This invention relates generally to the field of aviation software, and more particularly to a process for generating computer flight plans on the Internet. However, as will become obvious later, additional applications of this invention may also include the field of cartography, route planning for motor vehicles, marine vehicles and similar utilization. The present invention relates to a topographical terrain, aviation navigation, routing, obstruction and weather flight planning system that provides information for preflight use by pilots. In particular, the invention uses a topographical database, an aviation navigation database, an obstruction database, a weather database, an airplane specific database, and an air traffic route database to display a flight path over a given path while combining weather data (e.g. wind, temperature and clouds), aviation charts (e.g. special use airspace, airways, and navigational facilities, along with visibilities and ceilings), and predicted aircraft performance data (e.g. range, speed and climb rate) to permit increased operational awareness by the pilot and enhance display of possible hazardous situations.
Pilots have long required assistance in making decisions whether or not to fly in given weather conditions, in a particular type of aircraft and over a given terrain. This required the pilot to make a judgment as to go or not to go. If the pilot chooses to go, he/or she must then decide the safety of flying to a given destination airport or along a pre-planned route. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, National Weather Service (NWS)) and other government agencies aid pilots by providing weather data including wind direction and speed, weather conditions such as precipitation and other pertinent data. Often this information is in an obscure configuration and is strenuous for beginning pilots to comprehend. This information must then be brought to bear in the context of an abundance of regulations and aircraft performance parameters, making this an overwhelming task. Furthermore, experienced pilots still often find the information cryptic to retrieve and have difficulty grasping specific data relevant to their flight from the large amount of data obtainable. Compounding the situation further, commercial operators in their unique operations have their own supplementing FARs (e.g. Federal Aviation Regulations). These FARs must be recognized and followed by their pilots.
Some coarse graphic computer flight planning was first made commercially available in 1989. However, these products relied on a software installation on the user's computer. In contrast, this invention relies on the Internet, also referred to as the Internet. The Internet has seen rapid growth in the number of applications and as a result, in the number of users. Since the Internet allows most any computer with a compatible web browser access to a web site from virtually any Internet connection, it is possible to create an Internet web site which provides flight planning capability.
In this invention, all flight planning elements such as aircraft performance, topography, navigation, obstruction, road and geopolitical data are stored on the host Internet Server (host computer which creates the web pages served to the Client). As a result, the Client computer (remote user computer connected to the Internet) needs only modest memory and storage capability. Furthermore, virtually all flight planning computation and chart creation are executed by the Server, as a result, the Client computer does not require exceptional computing speed or advanced graphic computational capability. However, the Client computer must still provide an Internet browser of sufficient compatibility to accept the web pages provided by the Server.
When flight planning, be it by using a computer, or by using traditional paper and pencil, current, up-to-date data are crucial. This requires the pilot preparing the flight plan to ensure that the latest data is available. Since it is possible to inadvertently use out-of-date data, such as out-of-date computer disks or charts; errors may be introduced into the flight plan. This invention relies on the Internet. The Client computer is connected to the Internet, which in turn, is connected to the Server. Since the burden of data currency is now shifted to the Server, the Client computer is, therefore, not required to store navigation data as it would be in traditional computer flight planning software. As a result, the likelihood of using out-of-date data is greatly reduced with this invention.
Also, since this invention allows for remote data entry by a client computer and editing of navigation and other important flight planning data, keeping the data current is more efficient and timely. Furthermore, as features of this invention are added or improved, they become immediately available to the client computer connected to the Internet.
Some flight planning systems were developed to automate the delivery of flight planning route and weather to pilots. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 699,008 describes a system that included some flight planning function such as a terrain, route, navigation and a weather data base. However, this system executes the data processing, chart generation and flight planning computation on the client computer and, except for weather delivery data, is not connected to the Internet. The system receives weather information from a plurality of weather reporting organizations including the NWS, FAA (e.g. National Weather Service and Federal Aviation Administration) and others. The system then computes flight plan information for preflight and in-flight use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,895 describes a virtual reality imaging system. The system provides pilots with a depiction of all the multidimensional space encompassing an airport. This may includes weather, air traffic and spatial relationships of the aircraft with respect to the airport and the ground level. The prime implementation of this system is not, however, through the use of the Internet. Since the technology and software languages between traditional application software and Internet implementation are very different, it would not be practical to convert an existing application to run on the Internet. The current computer flight planners consist of Destination Direct by Delta Technology, FliteSoft by RMS Technology, and FliteStar by Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. A patent search does not reveal patents on either product. These products create flight plans much the same as cited in this invention. While these two products allow connection to the Internet for weather data extraction, all flight planning computations and chart generation is accomplished autonomously on the client computer. Furthermore, since the technology and software languages between traditional application software and Internet implementation are very different, it would not be practical to convert an existing application to run on the Internet. There are a number of Internet flight planners, namely: DTC WATS and AOPA online, which provide rudimentary flight planning functions. These are, however, for the most part, only text based.
The limitations of the prior art existing computer flight planners fall into two classes—autonomous (a system running the application software and computing the flight plan on a stand-alone computer not connected to the Internet) and flight planners connected to the Internet. The primary deficiency of autonomous applications are as follows: 1) They need a powerful and fast computer with large hard disk magnetic memory capacity and extensive RAM (Random Access Memory) capability. 2) They need to constantly update the applications software and data on a regular basis. 3) They can only run on a limited number of computers since the software must be installed. 4) As a result, they are limited in their performance and are expensive to keep current.
The primary deficiency of existing Internet flight planners of the prior art is that they: 1) For the most part provide only text output for their flight plans. 2) If graphics charts are displayed they do not incrementally scroll. 3) The data provided is of limited detail because of deficient compression and chart generation capability. 4) Routes, waypoints, and weather data can not be overlaid or interactively manipulated over the navigation charts.